In the heart of what was once the slipper industry, amongst the Pennine hills in Bacup lies an old shoe factory, there you will find Rob from Renew Bespoke and his workshop.
Rob is a wonderfully passionate, self-taught woodworker who has just recently moved from Scotland to his home county of Lancashire to live with his partner and build his woodworking business, bringing his tools, machinery and 17 tonnes of Scottish timber with him. Including Ash, Elm, pippy Oak and some lovely old growth Pine.
What struck me about Rob is his passion for his craft and practice and ability to work hard to bring his practice to life. He's been in the woodworking world for around 10 years now and is completely self-taught. He has set up a number of his own workshops, complete with industrial scale machinery. Anyone in the industry will know how much of a feat this is.
His introduction to woodwork comes after a career in the military serving just over 6 years, where he spent time in Bosnia. Shortly after that he studied at university until he unfortunately developed Hodgkin lymphoma. Following his treatment, it was necessary find refuge in Scotland where he had sanctuary after a difficult period suffering with PTSD.

Whilst in Scotland he got noticed locally for his practical skills, occasionally doing joinery work, with the casual need to make things for himself. After 5 years he moved further inland towards Glasgow, where he set up his first workshop. He worked with timber from old church pews and aimed towards building a community style workshop for the local town.
I asked Rob what initially sparked his passion for woodwork: He recalled an early experience around, the age of 7 that planted a seed, where he watched a woodworker planing some timber.
"I still remember the noise of the plane and the smell of the pine; the shavings were magical".
So, it comes as no surprise to learn that through various different circumstances in Scotland, being creative, making things, and through the influence of a wood-carver friend, he naturally became immersed within the world of woodworking and has never looked back.

This passion comes from a relatable source; His art is his therapy. I think we can all recall moments where we have achieved a perfect joint or fallen into the flow of a process that has granted us the feeling of sublime calm. For Rob this is even more pertinent, since his story is one of hardship and determination.
Rob’s practice is well developed at this point, he is at the start of a new chapter in Bacup, and has lots of timber in stock with just as many ideas. His aesthetic principles can be found in Moari carving and George Nakashima furniture.

During my visit and as I learnt his story, we spent time over the whetstone, I showed him how to sharpen and use a Kanna. And since then, I’ve been amazed to see that he has successfully been using his Kanna plane just from the little advice that I gave him.
Suffering PTSD and with his diagnosis of Lymphoma, it’s incredibly inspiring to see somebody overcome challenges and still come out on the other side with such creative interests and desire to be generous, community minded and kind.
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